Without Evidence, Bollin Accuses Gov. Whitmer & SOS Benson Of "Hijacking" Election
November 6, 2020
By Jon King / jking@whmi.com
A local lawmaker recently elected to a state House leadership position, is making allegations of fraud against the Governor & Secretary of State.
Just a day after Republican State Representative Ann Bollin of Brighton Township was elected to serve as an assistant majority floor leader for the upcoming Michigan House of Representatives legislative session, she has posted on social media allegations, without evidence, of illegality at the TCF Center in Detroit, where ballots have been counted from Tuesday’s election.
It followed comments Thursday by President Trump in which he made unsupported accusations about the integrity of the results in his race against Democrat Joe Biden, who has been declared the unofficial winner of the state’s Electoral College votes.
Posting on her official Facebook page today, Bollin, who was Brighton Township’s clerk for 16 years before winning election to the State House, said she was at the TCF Center on Monday and “saw first hand how Michigan election laws were not being followed” and “challengers and precinct workers were being disenfranchised” with, “double standards being applied out of fear.” Bollin then accused Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, both Democrats, of “hijacking our elections under the cloak of democracy and transparency and using COVID-19 as an excuse.”
INTEGRITY MATTERS! As a former clerk and strong advocate for election integrity I am greatly dismayed by what is going...
Posted by State Representative Ann Bollin on Friday, November 6, 2020
While offering no proof, Bollin said she had been, “fielding calls since Monday on many election issues including…blatant violations of Michigan election law…” The accusations against Whitmner follow a plot broken up last month by state and federal authorities in which more than a dozen men, including Ty Garbin of Hartland Township, were arrested for planning to kidnap and possibly kill Whitmer and also storm the Capitol building in Lansing.
In response, Gov. Whitmer’s spokesperson Tiffany Brown released the following statement; “Michigan’s elections were conducted fairly and transparently, and the results are an accurate reflection of the will of Michigan voters. We must come together in support of our democracy and against misinformation. It seeks to tear down our democracy or reduce faith in our elections. It comes from foreign adversaries and people unhappy with the election outcomes.“
Meanwhile, the head of the Livingston County Democratic Party says Bollin’s charges are a “shameless attempt to delegitimize the results of the election because her side lost.” Judy Daubenmier told WHMI that it was “disgraceful” for an elected official like Bollin to undermine the electoral process. “The Republican Party is allowed only 1 challenger per precinct in an AV counting board but at one time there were as many as 500 roaming around the center. Challengers are not allowed to disrupt the process or to harass election workers. And election workers should not have to go about their business with bullies pounding on the windows.”
Daubenmier said that as a former election official, Bollin should understand the importance of accepting the results of an election. “It's embarrassing to have her representing us.”
A message to Bollin asking for details on her allegations has yet to be returned. However, later on Friday, Bollin issued a press release in which she made no mention of Whitmer or Bollin “hijacking” the election. Instead she said, “SOS Benson seems to care more about her media schedule than delivering clean elections. This is evident by her media blitz this week highlighting the increased voter turnout and voter registrations and propping up the Detroit City Clerk who seems ill-equipped to respond to election questions. Most disappointing is that the Secretary of State, our chief elections officer, has created chaos throughout this election cycle with her inconsistent and incorrect messaging. It is time to hold her accountable. I will not stop fighting for election integrity, and I fully support the decision for our legislative oversight committees to look into the voting and counting process in our state. This is what needs to be done to give Michigan voters the peace of mind they deserve and make sure future elections run more smoothly.”